Skippy
by gibbslovesjenny
Summary: Gibbs and the team investigate a murder in Australia. totally Australian fic.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own NCIS. The credit belongs to Don Bellisario and CBS and here in Australia Network Ten. I only own the things you don't recognise. Enjoy **

**AN: this was the first NCIS fic I ever wrote. But the first time publishing it. It's set in Australia and may become one of a series of fics. I don't know, nor am I aware of NCIS even existing in Australia, but for the purpose of this story it does. **

Matilda Potts lay relaxed on a sunny Bondi beach, listening to her iPod. Suddenly two shadows cast shade above her. "What the hell...?" she questioned as she opened her eyes. Looking up she found NCIS Special Agents Cartwright and Clancy.

"I'm afraid there's been an accident Matilda" Agent Clancy informed her.

Matilda sat in front of her laptop, talking on MSN: _"he's dead... he wouldn't kill himself...what I do" _she typed.

"_Contact Gibbs" _came the simple reply.

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked out of the elevator, coffee in hand. Walking towards his desk he was greeted by the sight of his team: Tony looking far too relaxed for Gibbs' liking as he lay back in his chair feet on the desk and head resting in his hands, Ziva playing with her knife and McGee finishing off a report.

"DiNozzo! You're not on a holiday" barked Gibbs.

"Sorry boss" responded his snr field agent, almost falling off his chair "Just bored"

Gibbs sat down at his desk, taking a sip of coffee and opened up his email account. "Gear up" he said as he stood up.

"Where we goin' boss?" asked an excited Tony.

"Sydney"

"Australia?" asked McGee a little surprised.

"Problem Elflord?" asked Gibbs giving him a look.

"No Boss"

"Go home, pack. Meet back here in an hour"

The whole team including Ducky, Palmer and Abby were in the NCIS parking lot

"Where is he?" asked Gibbs to no one in particular.

"Maybe, he forgot" answered Ziva simply with a shrug of her shoulders and for which she earned a Gibbs glare.

"Tony wouldn't forget" McGee told her.

Abby looked across the parking lot "Here he comes" she stated as she pointed towards him.

The team looked across the parking lot in the direction that Abby had pointed to see Tony heading towards them dressed in a singlet with a Hawaiian shirt over it, denim shorts that stopped at his knees, thongs, (AN: I know in America they are called flip flops, but here in the great land of Aus, we call them thongs) and a surfboard under one arm while struggling to carry his bags.

"Nice outfit Tony" Ziva told him smirking.

"Nice outfit Tony" he mimicked "We are going to Australia Zee-vah. Its summer and this is how they dress"

"Actually Tony. They dress like that in Hawaii. In Australia if you want to fit in you should wear board shorts, flip-flops and a blue trucker's singlet" explained McGee who had great delight in telling Tony this.

Tony looked at McGee "Its how they dressed" McGee answered as he rolled his eyes.

"Uh why they surfboard Tony" asked Palmer.

"Pointbreak"

Palmer looked at Tony a little confused.

"Don't tell me the Autopsy Gremlin hasn't seen Pointbreak" asked Tony as he slapped his own forehead in frustration "American cop played by Keanu Reeves goes to Australia to catch a bad guy, surfs a break..." Gibbs head slapped Tony as he winced "Thankyou Boss"

QANTAS FLIGHT 457

The NCIS team took their seats. McGee and Tony sat together in the window aisle. Ziva, Abby and Palmer together in the middle row and Ducky and Gibbs together in the other window aisle. As they got comfortable in their seats the captain made announcements and the flight attendants showed what to do in an emergency.

Tony was growing bored the in flight movie hadn't begun and to fill in time he begun to throw peanuts at Ziva.

"Tony!" she hissed.

"What" responded Tony innocently?

"Stop it"

"I'm not doing anything"

"Yes. You. Are."

"You two. Stop it! Tony watch the movie" Gibbs told them.

"There is no...Oh wait" Tony grinned as he leaned back in his seat and placed the ear phones on his ears.

"Why do I feel like their parent Duck?" asked an exasperated Gibbs.

"Well Jethro..." began Ducky.

"Wasn't a question I wanted answered Duck"

"Ahhh..."

SYDNEY AIRPORT

"Good Morning passengers and welcome to Sydney. The weather outside is a sunny 26 degrees, we are expected to reach a high of 34 degrees. The time is 7am. I hope you enjoy your stay" The Captain of the plane greeted the travellers as the plane descended over Sydney Harbour.

Palmer who was now sitting next to Tony looked out the window "Oh wow. Abby, Ziva come look at this"

The girls carefully climbed over McGee who was asleep and went over to the window, squashing Tony in the process"

"Oh wow" exclaimed Abby "I wish Timmy was awake"

Duck and Gibbs looked out their window to see the plane flying over the Opera House. "Did you know that Sydney is the only airport in the world that allows its planes to fly over its Harbour" stated Ducky. (AN: I hope I got that fact right).

Matilda Potts waited in the arrivals lounge for Gibbs and spotted him straight away. "Uncle Jethro, thanks for coming"

"Uncle Jethro" Tony mouthed to Ziva and a confused McGee.

"Anything for family Tilda" Gibbs replied. "...this is my team Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee and Officer Ziva David. ME's Donald Mallard"

"Ducky, please" Ducky told the young woman.

"His assistant Jimmy Palmer" Gibbs continued "and our Forensics expert Abby Scuito" he finished.

Turning to his team he simply said "This is my god daughter Matilda Potts"


	2. Chapter 2

MATILDA'S HOUSE

"Why are we here boss?" Asked McGee.

"McGee" hissed Ziva.

"What?" he questioned. "I'm only asking the question you were thinking and Tony's too afraid to ask"

"Hey!" Tony responded.

"Matilda's father was murdered" answered Gibbs.

"So why aren't the local feds handling it" asked Tony.

"They did handle it" replied Matilda. "But they cocked it up. They said dad committed suicide; they interviewed no one and didn't do an autopsy. My dad would never commit suicide" she told them.

"I'm going to freshen up" Gibbs told them. "When I'm done, we will head to the NCIS base in Sydney"

"So what's the story with Gibbs" asked Tony when he knew Gibbs was well out of hearing range.

"Story?" asked Matilda.

"Yeah...Uncle Jethro. We know he's an only child."

"Dad worked with Gibbs and Mike Franks. Dad was an agent from Australia working in the US. Dad and Gibbs became solid mates; dad was Gibbs' best man at his wedding to... Dianne. Dad meant my mum in the US, they married and 4yrs later moved back to Australia to raise me. Mum died when I was little...breast cancer. Dad wanted no one else but Gibbs to be my god father. Dad even named me after Kelly... Matilda Kelly Potts."

Tony nodded in understanding.

"Let's go" came Gibbs voice.

"You know how to get there right?" asked Matilda a little worried.

Gibbs flashed her a piece of paper.

"And remember we drive on the left hand side of the road" she called out after them.

NCIS SYDNEY

Gibbs and his team entered the building and was greeted by Special Agent Alex Cartwright "Ahhh....Special Agent Gibbs, welcome to Australia"

"Special Agent Cartwright" Gibbs acknowledged as he have a small nod of his head towards the other man "id like to see Greg Potts' body and also the report" Gibbs continued not missing a beat.

"So down to business then" which earnt Cartwright a Gibbs stare.

"Down to business it is then" concluded Cartwright as Gibbs nodded.

AUTOPSY:

"Athletic looking man" stated Ducky.

"Yes, Agent Potts was very sporty; everything from touch footy right through to surfing" said ME Shelia Collins walking over to the men.

"Why wasn't an autopsy done Dr...." asked Gibbs

"Collins. No autopsy as he died of a bullet wound, blind Freddy could see that. It was suicide" answered Shelia.

"Not according to his daughter" Gibbs responded gruffly. "This is Dr. Mallard and his assistant Mr. Palmer they will be doing an autopsy. You can watch if you want" and with that Gibbs left the room.

"Is he always that straightforward" Shelia asked.

"Yes" responded Palmer a little too quickly which earnt him a glare from Ducky. "Err...Ahhh...Um... what I meant to say Dr. was..."

"Agent Cartwright, the report on Greg Potts death. Where can I find it?" asked Gibbs.

"There isn't one" Cartwright answered, which caused another glare head his way.

"Not the answer he wanted" whispered Tony.

"Why not?" asked Gibbs angrily.

"We didn't think it was necessary"

"Ziva, McGee" Gibbs barked. "Agent Cartwright is going to take you both to where Agent Potts' body was found. Find something"

"What about me boss" asked Tony.

"Interview any witnesses with the help of Agent Clancy"

"This is where we found Special Agent Potts' body. His car was 200 meters behind us" Agent Cartwright told McGee and Ziva.

"Where is his car now?" asked Ziva.

"Back at the office, impounded"

"Nice view" stated McGee as he looked out over the cliffs and the ocean.

"They call it The Gap" offered Cartwright. "It's where jumpers come"

"Jumpers" asked a confused Ziva. "I do not understand"

"Jumpers. People who commit suicide come here, they go over the safety rail, walk to the edge and jump" Cartwright further explained.

"Oh"

McGee began to take photos and climbed over the safety rail. Ziva followed. "I doubt you will find much. It happened four days ago. Do you know how many jumpers would have been here since then?" questioned Cartwright.

**AN: I'm sorry if this offended anyone, if anyone reading this has known a person commit suicide I'm very sorry. Please get them the help that they need, there are people who will listen. Even if it's you that they can talk to.**


	3. Chapter 3

"So what have her got" asked Gibbs.

"Well Greg's body was found at The Gap, now this is a place where suicide jumpers go. We did find some blood and footprints. But Agent Cartwright did say a lot of people head up there" McGee told him.

"Of all the people I spoke to they all said the same thing that he was well liked, enjoyed sports, mates with everyone and could have a beer with them" Tony explained.

"Not liked by everyone" Gibbs put in. "This feels like a cover up. Duck what have you got" he asked spying Ducky walking towards them.

"Fit as a fiddle. Though the bullet didn't kill him. I did find traces of drugs"

"What kind" asked an interested Gibbs.

"I won't know until Abby does a tox screen" replied Ducky.

"That can be done tomorrow. It's time we headed back to Tilda's"

When they arrived back at Matilda's place they found her on the front verandah arguing with someone. Abby was at the front door looking very worried.

"Leave me alone Rover" they heard Matilda say.

"Problem here Tilda" asked Gibbs eyeing off Rover.

"He's been here for 20mins Gibbs, going crazy" explained Abby.

"Crazy! I'm not going crazy I'm here to talk to my girlfriend" replied Rover.

"I'm _not_ your girlfriend Rover" Matilda told him.

"I heard about your dad, I thought I'd come round..."

"Rover. I don't know what kind of a name that is" said Ziva shaking her head.

"It's a nickname that Matilda gave me"

"yeah coz you're like a dog; yapping at me, growling at me"

"Perhaps if I throw a stick" suggested Ziva. This caused Rover to glare at her. "Or I could..." as she whispered something into his ear.

"Fine. I'm going"

"Thanks Ziva" a relieved Matilda said.

"How do you know him" asked Tony, following Matilda inside.

"We dated for about six months. I dumped him, can't accept that it's over"

"Yeah" responded Tony. "I know what you mean. I've had a few women like that"

3AM:

Gibbs stirred in his sleep. He had heard a noise. Opening his eyes he reached under his pillow to find his gun. Moving quietly and slowly so not to disturb Ducky, he moved to where the noise was heard. He found Matilda sitting in an old tree house. "Permission to come up" asked Gibbs.

"Permission granted" responded Matilda. "Dad built this when I was a kid, used to play in it all the time. As I got older, it was a place to come when I got angry with dad; he always knew where I was though. I miss him Gibbs, so much. It hurts. Why would anyone kill him? He was a good bloke"

"I can sit here and tell you that it will get easier Matilda, but it won't. The little things hurt the most. You just have to remember the good time...that's what your dad would have wanted. I don't know who killed him, not yet anyway. But I'll get him. I promise" Gibbs told her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks Uncle Jethro"

They moved back toward the house. When they were inside they heard a scream and a thud. Gibbs ran up the stairs with gun drawn towards the noise, Matilda was close behind. Gibbs entered Matilda's bedroom to find his team; all with guns drawn at a man doubled over in pain.

"Kurt?" Matilda questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" asked McGee.

"Yeah, my boyfriend"

"I heard about your dad, so I came home" explained Kurt who was picking himself up off the ground. "If I knew about the welcoming party"

"Sorry, I didn't know who you were" offered Ziva quietly.

"Kurt. This is Jethro Gibbs, Tony DiNozzo, Tim McGee, Ziva David and Abby from NCIS in the US." Matilda introduced him.

"Jethro Gibbs" he said looking at the silver haired man. "Good to finally put a face to the name. Greg told many stories about you"

"How'd you get in" asked Tony.

"How I always got in late at night. Through the window"

"Where have you been?"

"Up the coast. Camping with mates" came the simple reply.

7AM:

All were up in the Potts household showering, dressing and getting breakfast.

"I'm so sorry about last night Abby. I would have warned you if I knew he was coming"

"Don't worry about it Tilda. I was shocked at first but after I got over it, he was hot!"

"I don't think he's your type Abs" Tony told her.

"You don't know my type Tony"

"True. After all there was Probie" Tony said with a smirk.

"HEY!" McGee responded as he Gibbs slapped Tony, as tony almost choked on his juice.

"Where's Kurt" asked Gibbs entering the kitchen.

"Probably gone for surf" Matilda answered with a shrug.

"Surf? He surf's" asked Tony.

Matilda looked at him.

"Can he teach me?"

"I guess...ouch!"

"He is not leaning how to surf" replied Gibbs pointing at Tony, after he had Gibbs slapped Matilda. "He wants to be Cop Point"

"Pointbreak boss" responded Tony with a roll of his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

"Whoa, nice lab" stated Abby when she walking into the Australian NCIS lab.

"Thanks" replied a voice. You're the forensic expert from the US"

"Abby S. You are?"

"Evan Raynor. Welcome to my lab"

"What have you got Abs" asked Gibbs walking into the lab.

"Quiet a lot actually."

"Do I have to guess" asked Gibbs getting annoyed.

"OK, the bullet was from an NCIS registered gun"

"His own?"

"Yes, but when I looked at the gun there were no bullets in it"

"So he either was shooting at someone..."

"Or someone had his gun" finished Abby.

"Anything else?" Asked Gibbs.

"The drugs in his system....Ice"

"Enough to kill him?"

"Oh yeah...I'm about to head to the garage to look at his car"

"Ring me if you have anything"

MATILDA'S HOUSE:  
"where's Matilda?" asked Gibbs entering the house.

"In her room...shall I go get her?" asked Ziva. At which Gibbs nodded.

"Gibbs, what's up?" asked Matilda.

"When was the last time you saw your dad?"

"Am I a suspect?" asked a confused Matilda.

"No. Just helping with our enquires" Gibbs reassured her.

"Two days before he died"

"That's a long time" Tony stated.

"I work two jobs. One at a surf shop, the other at a restaurant. You can check if you want. After I finished work I went out, the pub's called three wise monkeys"

"Did Greg ever do drugs?" asked Gibbs.

"Never" Matilda responded shaking her head. "I have friends who are addicts; dad wouldn't even let them in the house. I had to talk to them on the front driveway"

"Have you ever done drugs?"

"Yea. I smoked a bong and tried some ice. I didn't like the taste of the bong and I didn't like the way the ice affected me" Matilda explained.

"Your dad know?" asked Tony.

"What's this about?"

"Ducky found a substantial amount of drugs in your dad's system. Abby identified it as the drug ice" Gibbs explained.

"Well if it was in his system, it wasn't put there by him. Someone had to have drugged him"

"I want names of all those people...yeah Gibbs" he said answering his phone. "Be there soon Abs...Ziva you're with me"

"So are they all the names"" asked Tony as he finished writing.

"You're forgetting Rover...Alex Cartwright" Kurt told them.

"And where will he find these people?"

"Up at the Cross" replied Matilda.

"The Cross" questioned McGee.

"Kings Cross...Junkies mostly hang out there" explained Kurt.

"Except Rover" put in Matilda. "You will find him at home"

"What have you got for me Abs?" asked Gibbs entering the garage with Ziva.

"What have you got for me?" asked Abby. Causing Gibbs to look at her, not sure where this was headed.

"Caf – pow"

"Sorry Abby. They don't sell them here. But I'll find you something."

"OK. Well I found some blood splatter which I matched to Greg. McGee took photos of some foot prints at The Gap. I found the same footprints in the car and there was another set, which I found some blood on them. I put it through the database. It belonged to Greg"

"That all you got Abs?"

"There is no pleasing you Gibbs...I'm running the other stuff through the database"

Ding ding ding, went a machine "Looks like this guy's DNA was already in the database"

"Alex Cartwright" said Gibbs looking over Abby's shoulder.

"That's..."

"Rover" concluded Ziva.

"Hi Boss" Tony greeted Gibbs as he answered his phone. "Nah nothing...off their faces...though Probie did get hit on by a cross dresser...something out of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert...Sorry boss...meet you there" he said as he ended the call.

"What did he say?" asked McGee.

"He asked what happened. Did you get her number?"

"Where are we going Tony?"

"Oh...Rover's place, his dad was in Greg Potts' car.

"What's taking them so long" asked an annoyed Gibbs looking at his watch.

"This is not DC, Gibbs" Ziva told him.

"Sorry we got lost" Tony explained walking towards Gibbs and Ziva. "Different city and all"

Gibbs knocked on the door and Rover answered "Rover...we have a warrant" Gibbs explained.

Rover closed the door and ran. Gibbs pushed the door open and ran after him through the house, outside into the backyard. Rover jumped over the fence and Gibbs jumped over the fence after him. Rover ran around the corner and down the road.

"There he is" stated McGee, watching Rover run.

"Well don't just stand there" Ziva answered.

Rover looked over his shoulder to see Gibbs losing pace. Suddenly Rover was crash tackled to the ground.

"You killed my dad, you killed me dad" Matilda yelled at him as she punched him.

Gibbs finally caught up; he knelt over; hands on his knees to catch his breath and waited for the other to catch up.

"Are you goin to stop her Boss?" asked McGee when he finally arrived.

"I suppose" answered Gibbs with a shrug of his shoulders, as he grabbed Matilda off Rover and McGee arrested him. They took him back to NCIS where Gibbs and Special Agent Clancy began the interrogation.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why did you kill Special Agent Greg Potts?" asked Gibbs.

"I didn't" replied Rover.

"Not what the evidence says"

Rover sat in silence.

"I think it would be best to tell us what happened" suggested Agent Clancy.

"Yeah...I killed him"

"Why?" asked Gibbs.

"Coz he made Matilda break up with me. Told me I couldn't see her"

Gibbs gave a small laugh then smirked "Potts had nothing to do with your breakup, it was all Matilda"

"You're lying" yelled Rover. "Matilda loved me"

Gibbs shook his head "no she didn't, that's why she ended it. She couldn't handle how possessive you were. She's not into...what do you call addicts in Australia?" he asked turning his head to Special Agent Clancy.

"Junkies"

"Junkies" turning his attention back to Rover "yeah, she's not into them. She told me"

"I meant up with Greg here at the base, gave him a shot of ice"

"How many shots?"

"I dunno. I stuck the needle in three times then left him. I phoned him later that night and told him I had Matilda at The Gap. When he arrived he was spun out. I shot him"

"How many times?" asked Gibbs leaning in over Rover.

"Just the once. I shot the other bullets. Then I panicked and rand dad"

"Special Agent Cartwright is Alex's father" explained Special Agent Clancy.

Both Rover and Cartwright were charged. Rover for murder and Cartwright with accessory after the fact.

During their final days in Sydney; Matilda and Kurt showed Team Gibbs around Sydney...Luna Park, The Rocks and The Rocks Markets, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, Centennial Park and Opera House and Bondi Beach. Tony loved Bondi as he saw many attractive women. Kurt taught Tony how to surf – well try to at least stand on the board.

AN: I have no idea about the drug ice. I'm pretty sure you do inject it and it sends you crazy.


	6. Chapter 6

It was Team Gibbs last night in Sydney and Matilda had something planned for them. She had sent them all out and asked them to come back in a few hours.

Gibbs walked through the front door, through the house to the backyard and stopped short, causing Abby and Ziva to run into him. The standing in front of him was Jennifer Sheppard.

"Jen?" asked Gibbs.

"Hello Jethro"

"How?" he questioned. "Your dead" he continued as he edged closer to her. She looked the same. Her hair had grown, it was blonde (AN: the colour her hair was in Judgement Day) but still had a red tinge to it. She was a lot skinner but she still looked the same.

"Witness Protection" she simply answered. "I faked my own death"

Gibbs held Jenny's arms, leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was returned with much enthuasim. It was like they were the only two people in the room.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you Uncle Jethro" Matilda told him. "When Jenny first came to Australia, she found dad and I and told us everything...I wanted to tell you but Jenny said I couldn't" she further explained.

"Its OK Tilda. I understand"

Gibbs was pushed out of the way by a flurry of black as Abby enveloped Jenny into a rather bone crunching hug.

They all sat in the backyard entertaining area eating a BBQ dinner. "Jennifer my dear" began Ducky. "What happened, how did you...?"

"Survive Ducky" Jenny finished.

"Yes" he said with a smile.

"I knew they would come for me. At the diner, when Mike went to get water, they came. I fired my weapon and got..." she began to explain.

"Two, you killed two" Tony told her.

"I walked out of that Diner and got into a car"

"If Fornell knew about this" stated an angry Gibbs.

"No Fornell has no idea" Jenny reassured him. "It was the Witness Protection detail, who placed me into Witness Protection"

"But the body Tony and I found..." asked a confused Ziva.

"Wasn't mine. Just someone who looked like me"

"If we stayed with you" Tony said.

"No Tony. They still would have found me"

"You never did an autopsy Duck?" asked Gibbs.

"No. It was too hard when I did it for Caitlyn, so the CIA did it"

"Does Vance know" Gibbs asked Jenny.

"Oh he knows...he organised the hit"

"Are you coming back to DC" asked Gibbs.

"Yes. I want my job back as Director of NCIS and I want to bring Vance down.

SYDNEY AIRPORT:

The team including Jenny where at the departure gates ready to return home.

"Thanks for everything Uncle Jethro" Matilda told him as she gave him a hug.

"Anytime. So what are you going to do now?"

"I want to become an NCIS agent like dad" she told Gibbs as he smiled at her.

"I'm _NOT_ sitting next to you on the way home" McGee told Tony.

"Hey!"

"No way Tony, I had to sit through _Die Hard _listening to you and only you quote for quote"

"Very well" said Ducky who was listening to the boys bicker "Mr. Palmer and I will sit next to Anthony"

McGee smirked.

"What McSpielberg?" asked Tony a little annoyed.

"Well with Ducky's stories, I doubt you will be watching any movies" replied McGee.

Gibbs stretched out his hand "Good to meet you Kurt. Take care of her"

"Yeah I will" replied Kurt. "Good to meet you too"

Gibbs put his arm around Jenny's waist and pulled her into him "Let's go home"

AN: thanks for the reviews, glad you liked it. Um I have absolutely no idea what the CIA does, so if they don't do witness protection. Sorry.


	7. AN

Yes there is a NCIS in Australia.

Its called ADFIS. I learnt that today. 1st June '10 as Pauley was in Sydney on her first trip and she was talking about it! She seems so much like Abby.


End file.
